Lies
by broken-inside-x
Summary: Set after Conviction. Its a Max/Stevie friendship and implies Smithy/Stevie of course.


**OK I should probably explain the Max and Stevie friendship thing seeing as he's always been the bad guy in my fics. He wasn't always such a bad person. When he first started he wasn't too mean which is why the fics set just after Convition. You guys'll be fed up of all these Stevie/Smithy fics. The pairing is implied in this fic but its more based on the friendship.  
Let me know what you think. Thanks :)**

"Stevie? You in here?

Why was she always so hard to find. It was nearing 10pm and here he was searching for the little blond. The station around him was quiet, most of the night relief were out on the streets of SunHill, it was Friday night after all. The CID team, he knew, were down at the pub along with most of Rachel Western's team. Celebrating SunHill's victory over the Devlin Case. Smithy had walked away with no charges against his name after an incredibly stressful trial which had included the relentless gruelling of both Smithy and Stevie. He wondered if that was why she'd gone AWOL now. She'd better turn up, she owed him a pint. And Max Carter was never one to let a free pint go to waste.

The CID office was empty. It seemed quiet without the noise of the team bustling about, each with their own job to do. Several vacated desk's were piled high with papers. Not surprisingly Mickey Webb's paperwork seemed to be stacked in mountains, no doubt stuff he hadn't touched in the last few months.

"Stevie?" he called out again, his voice echoing in the deserted room. Where could she have gone? The first place he'd checked had been the Sergeants office. He'd initially thought she'd be with Smithy. They'd been through so much together over the last few weeks and they seemed to have gotten closer over time. That was of course until the defense barrister had accused them of having more than just a friendly relationship and that was why Smithy had apparently attacked Devlin.

Smithy had just been leaving the Sergeants office when Max had raced up to it. He'd been disappointed to see that Smithy had been alone, even Stone had already left for the pub. He'd been even more disappointed to hear that Stevie had gotten away from him as soon as she could, he'd figured that she just didn't want to see him after she'd been dragged into the mess he'd made with Devlin. Max hadn't been surprised to see the frown that appeared on Smithy's face as he thought about how Stevie had near enough ran to the CID office after they'd arrived back at the station. She'd hardly said a word in the car as he drove them back. Smithy seemed more upset by her disappearance than Max did.

Max had left Smithy then, assuring him that he'd talk to her when he found her and Smithy believed him. He knew that they'd gotten close during several investigations. Particularly the surveillance operation they'd done together. 9 Hours in a car with someone was a long time and they'd made the best of it. Max had already raced off to check the next location, which had been the cafeteria. She hadn't been there either which is why he was now stood in the doorway of the empty office. His gaze sweeped over the office once more. The silence was deafening and the dark made even the most ordinary objects look sinister in the night.

It was then that he noticed the cup of coffee sitting on the table in the briefing room at the back. There was nothing unusual about the cup except for the steam rising from the top. He'd bet anything that was where he'd find the feisty DC although he couldn't see her through the blinds. He knew she was small but she wasn't that small which meant either she wasn't there or she was sitting on the floor. He'd soon find out.

He pushed the heavy wooden door opened, his eyes scanning the room, coming to rest on the small frame of a blond woman. Her knee's were drawn up to her chest and her head was resting on them, her arms covering her face. She was leaning against the wall under the window that overlooked the main road which led to the pub. Outside it was dark, the stars were absent in the presence of the streetlights that illuminated the stations car lot.

"You owe me more than one pint for this Moss" He muttered as he dropped down next to her. She lifted her head to look at him, giving him a watery smile in a stubborn attempt to prove she was OK. He'd known all along that she wasn't OK. No-one who was OK would hide themselves away in an empty office especially when she was usually the first one to jump at a night in the pub.  
He'd been outside the station talking to Banksy when Smithy's car had pulled up in the car lot. He'd watched her getting out of the car, her jacket pulled up against her neck as if the wind had suddenly become bitter and chilling. Her eyes had never looked up as she walked away from the car, Smithy had stood there watching her walking away, the familiar frown on his face. "I've wasted my Friday night looking for you. You definitly owe me more than just one pint!"

"Why exactly are you looking for me?"

"Well, when people go missing the general idea is that someone goes looking for them. You should know that being Filth and all." the familiar sounds of Max's deadpanned voice laced with sarcasm seemed to make her smile. A small smile but it was better than the tears that he was sure would be spilling over had it been any other woman apart from the stubborn Stevie Moss. "Not to mention you owe me a pint"

"I lied" She blurted out, his joke about the pint forgotten. He could see the tears welling up although she was still stubbornly fighting with her mind, determined to not let them fall. "In court. I lied under Oath."

"I know" He wasn't going to lie to her. He'd heard about the probing questions about her personal life coming up in court and he'd heard about her answers. He was well aware that his reputation an unemotional robot was being destroyed and fast. She'd been a good friend to him when he'd needed a drinking partner after a tough case or just a bad day, often getting smashed with him at their local so he was willing to let the facade drop in front of her. She was staring at him now, her eyes displaying her obvious confusion. "You didn't expect me to believe you don't have a thing for SunHill's local 'bent cop' did you?" His remark had lightened the air considerably and he heard her laugh softly.

"Nothing gets past you ey?" she chuckled.

"Can't believe I'm about to say this" He sighed. She'd turned her head away from him to hide the tears that were still welling up despite the jokes he had made. "You should talk to him. He's worried bout you y'know"

He watched her head whipped round to face him, her blond waves flying about her head, framing it like a halo. A cheeky grin spread across her face contradicting the single tear that had managed to slip passed her guard and was now rolling over her pale cheeks. Even with the grin etched into her face she still looked tired, the case had obviously affected her more than anyone realised and he wondered why he hadn't noticed she was struggling.

"Max Carter! Are you going all soft on me?" she laughed, still keeping up the pretense that she was OK, not that it mattered how much she tried to hide it.

"Shut it Moss. Mention this conversation to anyone and it'll be more than two pints you owe me" he grinned at her as he stood, straightening his clothes out before offering her his hand which she took gratefully as he pulled her up from the plush carpet in one swift motion, an obvious show of strength. "Come on, I bet you another pint he's down at the pub drowning his sorrows"

"Your on Carter!"


End file.
